[Psychology] Alert ! This Game may kill your Child (Snowy Rahi)

We live in a real world more or less manufactured by virtual environment. It’s the era of Facebook, Whats App, Instagram etc. but it is also the era of major addictive virtual games. Be it COC better known as Clash of Clans or Candy Crush or Criminal case; the list goes on. As much as I hate seeing a generation, who won’t have stories to tell as grandparents, wasting their life in front of screens I fear for them.

I fear for kids who are vulnerable enough to take their own life in order to win a game.

The Blue Whale is one such game. If you haven’t already heard about it let me give you a brief insight on what’s it all about.

The Blue Whale is a virtual suicide game which was developed by a Russian psychology student who was expelled from his college. This game accepts participants who want to end their life in a fun way. It majorly attracts students suffering from mental illness such as depression, anxiety etc. The game consists of fifty levels which are comprised of infliction of self harm. After completing each task the person is supposed to send a photograph of the self harm done.

HT Photo

They play with the psychology of the human in such a way that ensures that a person does not back out. The last i.e the 50th level is when the gamer has to commit suicide.

You might think that ‘so what there is such a game? It’s ‘just’ a game after all. Well it’s not.

Throughout Russia and China the game has taken almost 150 innocent lives. It has now spread it’s roots to India. Last week a fourteen years old student from Mumbai committed suicide and today I read in paper that a student of class 7 from Indore tried committing suicide by jumping of a three story building, but luckily was saved. Still think it’s just a game?

I am a student of psychology and I am a sister, an aunt, a friend as well. I belong to a family and I have friends. My purpose of writing this blog is simple. I want to keep all those I love safe. I am sure you would want the same.

So I talked to my psychology professors and asked that what could be the deriving force behind such a hideous task. To cover all that Information I’ll put forth the word “psychopath”. But what is more important is how can we tackle this situation?

They told me that to start with a three-pronged strategy: TALK- TAKE NOTICE- CONSULT.

Talk to the kids around you, ask them to speak. Ask them how their day was, what they did at school, listen to their tiny, diminutive and innocent problems. When you put efforts they know that You Care .

Take notice. If the person is too self-occupied and you notice a divination in their behavior; don’t ignore it. If a person is behaving unusually or is too quite please keep all your work aside and ask what’s going on in their life.

Consult. If you realise that the situation is out of your hand or even if you do figure out that something somewhere is wrong don’t hesitate to take professional help. A trained psychologist is your best option.

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Snowy Rahi

Snowy Rahi studies Psychology Honors at Women's College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. She is a member of varsity's Debating and Literary Club. She also contributes to The Times of India (Aligarh Edition). She aspires to be a writer.